Cresonia Hsieh is a student at University of Florida and an ISA Featured Blogger. Cresonia is currently studying abroad with ISA in Salamanca, Spain.
1) Shop at “El Rastro”
“El Rastro” is the word for a flea market in Spain. In Salamanca, the El Rastro takes places on Sunday mornings and hosts dozens of tiny shops selling shoes, clothes, and jewelry among other items. If you’re looking for any kind of apparel or accessories to buy in Spain, I’d check the flea market first. I bought a beautiful, black maxi dress made in Italy for only 10 euros!
2) Check out the Menu of the Day (Menú del Día)
Dining out in Spain can be extremely expensive, but luckily, it doesn’t have to be! Oftentimes restaurants will have a three-course meal during lunch that includes a drink, appetizer, entrée, and dessert for a fairly reasonable price (10-15 euros). Because I’ve found that they usually serve a lot per plate, I’ve become accustomed to splitting each dish with a friend and halving the price.
3) Buy a Reusable Bottle
As I’ve stated in my last post, many things are expensive in Spain, including water. Because water is not free in Spain, it’s a good idea to bring a reusable bottle, preferably with a filter so you can fill it up from sinks or water fountains. You’ll save a lot!
4) Go out for Dessert, not Meals
Because all your friends from study abroad will have a meal plan, it’s a good idea just to eat with your host families/residencies and then meet up later for dessert. If you do go out, opt to eat out for lunch instead of dinner since lunch is always cheaper.
5) Check Before Doing Independent Excursions
Because ISA Salamanca offers a lot of additional activities like cooking classes, soccer games, intercambios and sightseeing tours, check with the ISA staff to see if you’ll be seeing the monuments in your city before paying for a ticket on your own. Shout out to the best staff ever: Carmen, Bea, Robert and Rodrigo!
With the ISA staff, I got to see the New and Old Cathedral of Salamanca. It’s definitely worth seeing!
The following are some pictures I took while on my tour of the cathedrals in Salamanca. Enjoy!
Interesting post.